Consequently, the county IT department switched the Wi-Fi off, leading Coshocton commissioner Gary Fisher to say: "It's unfortunate that one person ruins it for those who use the service legitimately."

Targeting piracy

An MPAA spokesperson explained the action: "We target piracy at its source. We really focus on keeping the product out of the market in the first place."

Coshocton is now investigating the network's user logs to see who nabbed the Sony flick, which could result in the offender facing a $150,000 (£90,000) fine.